One of the more tried and true soccer clichés — “he opened his account” — normally refers to a player scoring his first goal of the season or his first goal with a new club.

But in the case of Liverpool’s Luis Suárez early on Saturday, it was more akin to making a withdrawal (perhaps at Standard Chartered Bank, the Reds’ jersey sponsor) after signing a lucrative contract extension during the week, and then scoring two goals and creating a third in a 3-1 victory against visiting Cardiff City at Anfield.

The striker from Uruguay scored his 18th and 19th goals of the Premier League season as Liverpool bounced to the top of the standings, pending other results, most notably Arsenal match against Chelsea on Monday. Suárez’s new deal, which supersedes his contract that was to expire in 2016 and now runs through 2018, will pay him nearly $17 million a year over the final four years on the deal.

On Saturday, Suárez, 26, again served as the Liverpool captain in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard. He opened the scoring in the 25th minute when he cleanly struck a volley at the top of the penalty area from a pass by Jordan Henderson. Liverpool made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute when Suárez slid a pass to Raheem Sterling, who scored.

Right before halftime, it was Suárez again, as he took a back-heeled pass from Henderson and curled a shot inside the far post, going left to right, from the top of the penalty area.

Suárez leads the Premier League in goals scored, six more than Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero. City played at Fulham on Saturday.